The New Testament World (3rd Edition)

Mediterranean thought, which had evolved through several school of philosophy and declared 'civilized', did not align with that of the Jew during the first century. They believed less in the concept of individual and more in that of the collective. Malina, introduces his readers to four distinct cultural values (honor, dyadic personality, kinship and purity) that were upheld in the culture of the time. In the Mediterranean world, honor was a means of finding 'worth that is socially acknowledged' and is exemplified by the merging of authority (over others), gender status (what is deemed acceptable and to be practiced according to gender) and respect (attitude and behavior). Dyadic personality refers to the concept in which a single personality within a community reflects the entire community as a collective, perceiving 'themselves and form[ing] their self-image in terms of what others perceive and feed back to them'. Kinship 'and its major generating institution, marriage, deal with the meanings and values embodied by persons who are involved in the birth of a child and the process begun by birth'. Purity is 'about the general cultural map of social time and space, about arrangements within the space thus defined, and especially about the boundaries separating the inside from the outside'. Malina's research and thesis is sound, well researched, well written, and contrasted with the Scriptures. A helpful resource, though pricey.